Preschool may be option for former Serna site
The main building of the former Joe Serna Jr. Charter School campus will be demolished in the near future as the Lodi Unified School District considers what the future holds for the Central Avenue site.
Leonard Kahn, the district’s chief business officer, told the district’s board of education Tuesday night that a preschool would be the best use for the 2acre site located at 19 South Central Avenue in Lodi, stating it would be difficult to plan anything larger to accommodate older students.
“The board saw the difficulties Serna experienced with a crowded space that held 360 students,” Kahn said. “We looked at a performing arts center there because the stage at Sanctuary Hall would have been ideal for that type of program, but it was too expensive to do.”
Kahn said preschools are the focal point of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2019-20 budget, and because there is potential to receive some of about $300 million in state facilities funds to expand or improve preschools, that would be the best option for the site.
He said if the district were to demolish the main building, build a new structure with larger, up-to-code bathrooms and classrooms, it could potentially accommodate special education programs or inclusionary programs in the future as well.
A full-day preschool could also generate as much as $12,000 in revenues for the district, Kahn said.
Kahn did not know the cost to demolish the existing main building on the site. The district demolished a similar building on Needham Elementary School a few years a go, he said, which cost about $418,000. He said demolition at Central Avenue could potentially be the same.
Board member George Neely said he was not pleased with the direction the former Serna school site is headed, noting the district spent $568,000 in Measure U funds to repair the school’s roof in 2017, and then decided to move the campus to Houston School in Acampo the following year.
Approved by voters in 2016, Measure U authorized $281 million in school bonds to retain and attract teachers, remove mold, lead and asbestos from sites, upgrade classrooms and enhance technology for students.
“I love the idea of a preschool there because the younger we can get kids started in the learning process, the better chance they can read at a third grade level in the third grade,” Neely said. “But I think we can explore other options, like the possibility of a non-public school there. Non-public schools are making a profit, and I think we can do that and get in on that (profit).”
Board member Ron Heberle said he was lukewarm to the idea of a preschool at the site, given the dangers such as asbestos and lead paint that could be remaining after demolition.
As a former firefighter who dedicated his life to keeping the community out of danger from hazards such as asbestos and lead, he was not sold on another school on the property.
“That neighborhood really is an important area where we can help serve the population there,” he said. “It is one of our lower-income areas that is densely populated and is becoming more dense all the time. We can talk about a preschool there, but don’t want it to be our only option.”
In 2018, Superintendent Cathy Nichols-Washer cited inadequate facilities, the kindergarten class being housed in the school’s basement, and lack of playground space as reasons for moving the Serna campus north.
On Tuesday, Kahn said the main building on the site does not meet California Division of the State Architect standards, and renovations to meet those standards are not feasible.
Before Tuesday’s meeting, Kahn said as the Serna roof was repaired, crews began finding other areas on the site that required renovation or repair.
Asbestos and lead levels became problems as repairs were being made, and the site’s entire heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit failed, among other problems that arose in recent years, he said.
The district had planned to spend about $300,000 in Proposition 39 grant funds to replace the HVAC system and convert all site lighting to LED systems, Kahn said. However, bids totaled more than $700,000.
Also known as the California Clean Energy Jobs Act, Proposition 39 was approved in 2012 and provided $550 million for state K-12 schools over the course of five academic years, beginning in the 2013-14 school year.
Moving the kindergarten classrooms from the basement into portable buildings was also considered, but the board and district realized that would mean additional units taking up space on the site’s already cramped recreational area, he said.
Just recently, an architect evaluated retrofitting the campus’ Sanctuary Hall, and estimated it would cost more than $5.6 million to bring it up to local code.
The total cost for upgrading the entire site to local and DSA standards would have potentially climbed into eight-digit figures, Kahn said, and that wasn’t feasible for the district.
“It’s a 2-acre site with 360 students, and some of those are eighth graders that can get pretty big,” Kahn said. “The site has proven itself as an educational program the community desires, and it would have been unbelievably expensive to repair or replace things.”
Kahn will present further options for the site to the board at its Feb. 18 meeting. In addition, he will present a contract for an architectural firm to design schematics for a potential preschool. The board will then decide which option to take.